No Privacy
by Mariel Nightstalker
Summary: Harry feels like he's being watched. SLASH Tom Riddle/Harry


**No Privacy**

The hallway was zebra-striped with moonlight and darkness. Harry padded silently down its length, careful to pace himself lest his invisibility cloak begin flapping around his legs like it always did if he walked too fast. It was one of the few irritating aspects of the cloak.

He heard a sound that spooked him and made a dash for a suit of armor to hide behind. His legs got tangled in the cloak and he did a face plant, smashing his chin painfully on the stone floor and twisting his right ankle. He cursed loudly and then bit his tongue, freezing in place. The portraits were awake now and looking around for what woke them. He stopped breathing but for the bare minimum until they settled down again.

When it was safe again, he rolled to a sitting position and gently felt his chin. He saw stars when he touched it and decided that, while none of his teeth felt loose, he had bruised it badly. His ankle was bruised as well but could still support his weight. Thank god for small mercies.

He continued down the hall, more grateful for the pain than he wanted to acknowledge even to himself. The pain was another thing that he could focus on other than the nagging feeling of being watched. Hogwarts was hardly the place to go if you didn't want to be watched, as nearly every hall was populated with nosy portraits or ghosts, but he'd gotten used to those. It was this new feeling, the one that made him self-conscious about doing anything remotely _erotic_ that made him uncomfortable. He couldn't figure out the source of it. All week he'd felt like someone was undressing him with their eyes, even when alone.

Careful of the cloak now, he headed towards the Great Hall. It was the winter break and sometimes the House Elves left the fires burning there late into the night as they popped in and out replacing or improving the decorations. It would be nice to sit by the fire and look at the decorations. Anything but lying in bed feeling invisible eyes trailing up and down his body was acceptable to him at this point.

Showering had become more awkward than he'd thought imaginable, and that is saying something when you're a sixteen year old boy a bit on the short side. Having everyone else a head taller than him was getting annoying.

He was just sweeping the Great Hall with his eyes, looking for movement, when something that felt suspiciously like a finger suddenly trailed up the length of his spine, starting at his tailbone and only vanishing at the nape of his neck. His breath froze in his throat. A species of terror made him wish he hadn't bothered to get out of bed that night.

His body took over and fled. He ran out the front doors and across the grounds, heading straight for the cover of the trees. He ran until his bruised ankle gave out and he had to sit and rest. Worn out with emotion, he stared about at the woods. He was lost now and his breath fogged in the cold. This had been a stupid idea, and he cursed his instincts for making him act like a rabbit at the slightest indication of an assault.

Granted, things were getting scary now, but that was no excuse for running away like a coward.

He realized that the sensation of being watched had disappeared. Letting out a huge breath of relief, he pulled up his pant leg to examine the bruise again. It was considerably more swollen now because of the pressure he'd placed it under. He cursed and then jumped when he heard an all-too-familiar voice comment,

"That looks like it hurts."

"Christ!"

He shrank back against the tree, staring wide-eyed at Tom Riddle. He looked the same as he had the time they encountered each other in the Chamber of Secrets, except perhaps a bit older. His eyes were red in the starlight. Harry swallowed and began to feel very, very afraid. He was unarmed, injured, and alone with the Dark Lord.

Tom snorted, "What, did I scare you?"

"Why are you here?" Harry replied in a heavy voice of resentment, pulling his legs up to his chest. It really was cold out here.

"To see you, of course."

Feeling a little bolder now that no death threats or long speeches about how much Tom wanted to destroy Muggles, Harry asked, "What do you want from me? Have you been the one, you know, looking at me lately?"

"I don't know what I want yet, and yes."

_Shit._

"Oh."

Tom suddenly sat down beside him, scooting close enough that their shoulders touched. Harry tried to shrink away but Tom followed. The fact that Tom was solid was making him very afraid. He decided to talk to try and cover his discomfort, "I just want you to know that the way you've been invading my privacy is very rude."

"I know."

Tom turned his head to look at Harry's profile. Harry stared resolutely ahead, hoping that Tom couldn't feel him trembling. He was terrified out of his mind but a sense of outrage was beginning to build beneath it. What right did Tom Riddle have to watch him in the shower and make him feel really uncomfortable every time he was changing?

"Where did you get that scar?"

"Which one?" Harry responded without thinking.

"The one on your inner thigh."

Harry's face could not have gotten any redder. He choked out, "I…that's none of your business."

A hand was suddenly between his legs, lightly stroking the place where the scar hid behind his trousers. He choked out something that might have been a yelp and might have been a complaint. The hand didn't go away. it clenched. He jerked but found himself curiously unwilling to move away.

Tom squeezed again and Harry knew he was smiling.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, Harry."

And then he was gone as suddenly as he'd come. The sensation of being watched went with his manifestation, and Harry groaned aloud. He didn't even want to consider what this meant other than his privacy was gone forever.

~000~

End No Privacy

As usual, I cannot write anything non-weird about Tom.


End file.
